Backfilling and Grading: Confirmation of Effective Date for Rescission of Suspended Surface Mining Standards

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) has confirmed the effective date of a direct final rule that permanently removes an outdated regulation from the Code of Federal Regulations. The regulation in question had prescribed specific time and distance performance standards for the completion of rough backfilling and grading operations at surface mining sites, but had been suspended by the Secretary of the Interior back in 1992 — yet it remained on the books for over three decades without formal removal. The original direct final rule was published on November 28, 2025. During the public comment period, OSM received two comments that required additional review to determine whether they constituted significant adverse comments warranting withdrawal or modification of the rule. After thorough evaluation, OSM concluded that neither comment rose to the level of a significant adverse comment, allowing the agency to proceed and confirm the rule's effective date. This action is essentially a regulatory housekeeping measure: it eliminates a zombie regulation that had no practical enforcement effect since 1992 but remained technically present in federal law. Its removal reduces regulatory ambiguity and cleans up the CFR without imposing any new obligations or changing current operational practices for the surface mining industry.

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